James Woods

7	Listal rating

Stats

Birth Name: James Howard Woods

Age: 66, born 18 April 1947

Country of origin: United States

Height: 6' 0"

Lists

323 votes

Almost Unrecognizable (88 items)
list by coroner

Published 4 years, 5 months ago

136 comments

246 votes

The evolution of... (817 items)
list by johanlefourbe

Published 2 years, 5 months ago

39 comments

180 votes

Celebrities who Look Like Historical Figures (26 items)
list by мя.ЂeLweNdeR

Published 3 months, 3 weeks ago

38 comments

114 votes

They deserve an OSCAR (45 items)
list by propelas

Published 2 years, 6 months ago

39 comments

96 votes

Couples that ignore numbers... (63 items)
list by BRODO

Published 2 years, 3 months ago

19 comments

View all James Woods lists (40 more)

Photos

2 votes

1 vote

View all James Woods pictures (23 more)

About: James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is a American film, stage and television actor. Since his first Golden Globe nomination for a breakthrough role in The Onion Field (1979), Woods has starred in Once Upon a Time in America, Oliver Stone movies Salvador and Nixon , Ghosts of Mississippi, and in legal series Shark. He has won two Emmy Awards (for tele-movies Promise and My Name Is Bill W.) and has been twice nominated for an Academy Award. His voice work has been heard in animated series Fam James Howard Woods (born April 18, 1947) is a American film, stage and television actor. Since his first Golden Globe nomination for a breakthrough role in The Onion Field (1979), Woods has starred in Once Upon a Time in America, Oliver Stone movies Salvador and Nixon , Ghosts of Mississippi, and in legal series Shark. He has won two Emmy Awards (for tele-movies Promise and My Name Is Bill W.) and has been twice nominated for an Academy Award. His voice work has been heard in animated series Family Guy, The Simpsons, Disney movie Hercules (as Hades) and video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Woods did 36 plays before making his Broadway debut in 1970 at the Lyceum Theatre, in the first US production of Frank McMahon's Borstal Boy. Woods got the part by pretending he was British. He returned to Broadway the following year to portray David Darst in Daniel Berrigan's The Trial of the Catonsville Nine. In 1971, he played Bob Rettie in the American premiere of Michael Weller's Moonchildren at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The production moved to Broadway the following year and Woods won a Theatre World Award for his performance.

He returned to Broadway in 1973 to portray Steven Cooper in the original production of Jean Kerr's Finishing Touches. Since then, he has worked regularly as an actor for film and television.In 1975, he portrayed an arrogant high school drama teacher and debate team leader in the television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter.

Woods is a prominent Hollywood character actor. He is known for his dark, intense characters. Early examples include his portrayals of a sadistic murderer in 1979's The Onion Field,and of serial killer Carl Panzram in 1994's Killer: A Journal of Murder. He appeared in an episode of The Rockford Files, playing a son whose parents were murdered.

He has been twice nominated for an Academy Award: first, for Best Actor, for playing a journalist chronicling events in El Salvador in early Oliver Stone film Salvador (1986), and again in 1996, for Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as real-life white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in drama Ghosts of Mississippi.

One of his favorite film roles is Max, the domineering gangster, in Sergio Leone's epic Once Upon a Time in America (1984). In 1995, Woods took the role of pimp Lester Diamond in Martin Scorsese's Casino. That same year, he portrayed H. R. Haldeman in Nixon, the biopic of Richard M. Nixon, directed by Oliver Stone.

One of his most prominent television roles to date saw him starring in CBS legal drama TV series Shark, which ran for two seasons between 2006 and 2008. He played an infamous defense lawyer who, after growing disillusioned when his client commits a murder, becomes a successful prosecutor with the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office.

He was briefly considered for the role of The Joker by director Tim Burton and screenwriter Sam Hamm for the 1989 film Batman. Hamm recalls that he and Burton thought, "James Woods would be good and wouldn't need any makeup, which would save a couple of hours' work every morning." The role ended up going to Jack Nicholson. Quentin Tarantino wrote a part in Reservoir Dogs with Woods in mind, but Woods' agent rejected the script without showing it to the actor. When Woods learned of this some time later, he considered firing his agent. Woods was also considered for the part of Donald Kimball in American Psycho, but he turned it down. The part was given to Willem Dafoe.

In 2006, Woods starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in political thriller End Game. The same year he cameoed as played himself in the premiere episode of Entourage's third season.

In 2011, Woods appeared as Richard S. Fuld, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers, in HBO's Too Big to Fail, for which he gained an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Mini-series or Movie.
... (more)

Voice Actor (4), American (4), The Simpsons Guest (3), Family Guy (3), Comedian (3), Male (3), Intelligent (2), Casino (2), Born 1947 (2), Actor (2), Awesome (1), Funny (1), Shark (1), Genius (1), The Virgin Suicides (1), Great (1), Used To Be Hot (1), Scary Movie 2 (1), Intellectual (1), Another Day In Paradies (1)

Movies

1. Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Rating:

4.9

2335 Watched

2. The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Rating:

7.1

1833 Watched

3. Hercules (1997)

Rating:

6.8

2057 Watched

4. Casino (1995)

Rating:

7.8

1618 Watched

5. Contact (1997)

Rating:

6.6

1525 Watched

View all James Woods movies (72 more)

TV

1. Family Guy (1999)

Rating:

7.5

3425 Watched

2. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (1996)

Rating:

7.6

943 Watched

3. Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)

Rating:

7.2

522 Watched

4. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992)

Rating:

5.5

292 Watched

5. Hercules (1998)

Rating:

5.5

222 Watched

View all James Woods TV (38 more)

Updates feed

Beefheart added this to a list 6 days, 1 hour ago

Icons of Manliness (85 person items)

Fortunato added this to a list 6 days, 6 hours ago

Hollywood's Most Distinctive Voices (100 person items)

Onion Jack added this to a list 2 weeks ago

My Husband Says That I Must Be A Serial Killer (132 person items)

"Carl Panzram Killer: A Journal of Murder (1995) CARL PANZRAM (Serial Killer) Born: 28 June 1891 - Polk County, MN Died: 5 September 1930 - Leavenworth, KS Cause of death: Hanged Number of victims: 8-82 Span of killings: 1920-1928 Sentence: Death "

Jpit added this to a list 1 month, 3 weeks ago

Favorite Actors/Actresses (96 person items)

xolmis added this to a list 2 months ago

Actors who deserves the Oscar (Post 70s) (43 person items)

" 2 nominations Nominated 1-Salvador (1986) 2-Ghosts of Mississippi (1996) (Supporting Role) "

Leo added this to a list 2 months, 2 weeks ago

Primetime Emmy Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie (52 person items)

"1987 - Promise 1989 - My Name Is Bill W."

richard tong voted for an image 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Rhoda added this to a list 2 months, 3 weeks ago

Good Actors (46 person items)

milica added this to a list 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Male Actors Piñata (180 person items)

" Uncle Sam, Kicked in the Head"

мя.ЂeLweNdeR added this to a list 3 months, 3 weeks ago

Celebrities who Look Like Historical Figures (26 person items)

brawljeff added this to a list 5 months, 2 weeks ago

The Trivia of: Reservoir Dogs (9 person items)

" Quentin Tarantino wanted James Woods to play a role in the film, and made him five different cash offers. Woods' agent refused the offers without ever mentioning it to Woods as the sums offered were well below what Woods would usually receive. When Tarantino and Woods later met for the first time, Woods learned of the offer and was annoyed enough to get a new agent. Tarantino avoided telling Woods which role he was offered "because the actor who played the role was magnificent anyway". It is w"